When Chaos Reign
by Raristrong
Summary: With the overthrow of the monarchy, the clans rule Ivalice. After witnessing a strange event while on a mission in Nubswood, Jack, leader of an independent clan, is thrown into a series of events that leads him to one of the largest secrets in Ivalice.
1. The Early Morning

After the defeat of Queen Remedi, Ivalice remained at peace. Marche and his clan continued to explore the vast land of Ivalice. Their explorations and their accomplishments did not go without notice. Soon, stories and rumors about Marche's clan spread over Ivalice like wild fire. Over time, Marche became as well known a name as the Totema and other figures of legend. During this time however, unrest and conflict was stirring underneath the blanket of peace and prosperity. After the death of Judgemaster Cid, a new Judgemaster was soon appointed. This new Judgemaster, who only went by his new title, was not the same as Cid. He was cruel, ruthless, and had those who broke the rules punished more severely.

The Judgemaster, under the "orders" of King Mewt, increased the severity and restrictions of the law. Soon, the clan could barely fight without breaking or violating some law. The clans and ordinary citizens were not happy about this, and riots broke out in every town and city, outraged at the abuse of the Judgemasters power. A large mob of disgruntled citizens of all races marched on Bervenia Palace, and eventually burned it to the ground. The Judgemaster was caught in the blaze, and the other judges were hunted down. Oddly, King Mewt and his family disappeared soon afterwards, never too be seen again. Rumors have it that he fled to another country; others put him in a clan that resides in Tubola Cave.

After the burning down of Bervenia Palace, many a man tried to fill the power vacuum, but none succeeded. The people of Ivalice no longer wanted a person to lead them, to set rules for them. They wanted to create their own rules, live their own lives without law. The only leader's that were accepted were the leaders of the clans. Without any law to stand in their way, the clans progressively got larger, more powerful. Some clans even got close to a hundred members, a figure unseen before! The leaders had trouble keeping their members paid and happy, so soon they began to control businesses and other such enterprises. There was one clan in particular that stood out among the rest, its name Clan Imperia.

The leader of Clan Imperia, Cicero Cilini, a human, had anticipated the revolt of Ivalice's citizens against the law system and monarchy. He predicted that the clans would soon afterwards strive for power, so he made preparations beforehand. He gained the trust of several businesses who promised to stay loyal to Imperia, so long as they paid an annual fee. When the Revolution, the overthrow of the law, broke out, Cilini was in a prime spot. His clan soon became one of the largest in Ivalice, but there was something that he had not anticipated. A rival clan was emerging on the scene, and its name was Energie. Clan Energie had been sneaky, not revealing its true strength until sometime after the Revolution. Soon, the two started pressuring other clans to join them, all in a strive for power.

Our story begins in a small house in the slums of Cyril, home base to Clan Imperia.

* * *

The rising sun cast a golden glow on the city of Cyril, waking those who slept in the higher buildings of the town. For those who were not awakened by the suns rays, the church's bell rang out seven times, signaling seven o' clock. To shop owners and merchants, this was their time to start opening their shops and stalls for the customers to come. In front of some shops, people waited anxiously for it to open, for reasons kept to them selves. For most of the townsfolk, this was their call to start their daily chores. In short order, the main section of the city was abuzz with the varied races of Cyril's citizens.

In a small house in the slums, a Nu Mou awakened. It was not the sun that did the deed, the house was surrounded by larger buildings that blocked the sunlight, it was the church bell. He sat up, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out. He stretched, wincing as his sore muscles began to move. He muttered something under his breath, something about beds. He stood up, and shuffled over to the door. Hanging on a nail was his robe, white with red triangles on the bottom and ends of the sleeves. He put the robe on over his nightshirt, and slowly opened the door. The door creaked, and he immediately looked behind him to a small bundle of blankets. The bundle shifted, and a small red ball poked out of it. The ball belonged to a moogle, a small creature measuring at a foot and a half at the highest, not including the ball. The Nu Mou sighed in relief; he hadn't waken the moogle up. If he had, he'd have to face one of the moogles many tricks. He did not want that this early in the morning.

The Nu Mou quickly stepped into the other room, closing the door behind him. This room was slightly bigger than the one he had just exited, roughly ten by fifteen feet, still a very small room. Situated in the center was a low lying table, three logs and a backed chair sitting on all four sides. To the Nu Mou's left, a fire pit sat its rim two feet off the ground, half the height of the Nu Mou. A grill covered the opening, put there for the two pans they owned. The pans themselves sat on a shelf on the other side of the pit. Two more shelves were positioned above and below the one with the pans, and these were half-covered in food, mainly eggs and bread. There were some apples and other fruits on the shelves, but not many.

As he was walking towards the fire pit, he noticed that someone was sitting in the backed chair, facing away from him. He stared at the man for just a moment, and then continued walking back to the fire pit. He wasn't worried that someone had broken in; the man in the chair just had a knack for waking up earlier than the rest of them. The Nu Mou grabbed a couple logs that were piled next the fire pit, lifted up the grill, and threw them in, sending up a puff of ash. He whispered a word under his breath, and suddenly the logs started burning. He grabbed a pan, set it on the grill, grabbed a few eggs, and cracked them open. He then grabbed a wooden spoon and started mixing the eggs.

"So Jack, do we have any missions yet?" the Nu Mou asked the human in the chair, keeping his attention on the eggs in the pan, "We really need to buy some beds or some cots at least. I'm getting too old to sleep on the floor." He held his back with one hand to emphasize the point.

"Your not one to complain Bernard," Jack replied, not taking his eyes off the book he was reading. He brushed a piece of dirt off his trousers, and continued, "We do have a mission, although I was nearly beat to it. Imperia seems to hold a grudge against us now for not joining them. I'm surprised they haven't come directly to our house."

"Imperia is persistent when it comes to having the smaller clans join them," Bernard said, continuing to stir the eggs, "What is this mission exactly? I hope it's one that doesn't require much fighting."

"We'll be going to Nubswood to gather some herbs for an old man. Apparently he needs them for some sentimental purpose, I didn't quite listen to that part," Jack explained, closing his book down on the table. He stood up, turning the chair so it faced the table, and sat back down.

Bernard turned to face Jack, a look of surprise on his face, "Nubswood!?" he exclaimed, making sure to keep his voice down, "But that's Energie territory! You know how they feel when a clan even steps foot on their territory. If we get found out we will most likely die, you realize that right?"

"Yes, I realize that Bernard, but we really need to do this. Our money is getting really low," Jack rebutted, "Sometimes I think that Imperia are taking all the jobs, just to persuade us to join them."

"Maybe we should," Bernard replied, turning back to the eggs, "We'd be treated fine, and we'd have a constant supply of jobs and money."

"No!" Jack nearly yelled, tipping the chair over as he sprang up, "I do not want to sacrifice this clan's independence!"

"Damn it, Jack, do you know how stubborn you sound?" Bernard yelled back, his voice straining, turning to face him again, "I don't know how much longer I can stay with you Jack! The living is hard, we're not eating right, and we're sleeping on the floor! The floor Jack!"

Before Jack had a chance to respond, a small voice interrupted the argument. Both of them turned to look who made it. Standing in the doorway, right next to the one that Bernard had exited from, was a human girl, one hand steadying her on the doorframe. The other hand was moving her long, brown hair out of her face. She tucked her hair behind her ears, revealing a small scar near her hairline. There were a few smaller scars on both her arms, but most of the time they were covered by sleeves. She was wearing a thin nightgown, ending just above the ankles.

"Jack? Bernard? Are you two fighting again?" she asked, walking over to the table, "It's too early to be fighting and to be fighting about money of all things."

"Good morning to you too Kaila," Jack said, setting up the chair and sitting in it. Bernard quickly turned back to the eggs, making sure that they weren't burned, even though they smelled like it. Kaila sat down on the log closest to the door, setting her head on the table.

"Kaila, today me and you are going to run some errands today," Jack said, taking his book and holding it.

"Oh really? How come?" she responded, her voice slightly muffled from being nestled in her arms.

"We need to go and grab some supplies for our mission,"

"In Nubswood," Bernard butted in,

"In Nubswood," Jack continued, "And we're going to go and scout for new members. We might be able to get a new member."

"Nubswood? But that's Energie territory, we could die," Kaila said, lifting her head up, "Sound exciting. Let me go change and -,"

"Not before you have some breakfast Kaila," Bernard said quickly, setting plates in three places. He grabbed the pan, and dished out the eggs, leaving a fourth portion in the pan. He set the pan on the rim of the pit, and took a seat on one of the logs, and started eating.

"Eggs again? We just had eggs yesterday," moaned Kaila, sitting back in her seat. She began shoveling the eggs into her mouth with her hands; the clan had yet to buy decent eating utensils, so they had to stick with their hands for the time being.

"Do not blame me," Bernard said, eating his eggs with the wooden spoon, "The food funds were spent on books, and Jack's silly hat."

"That hat is not silly," Jack rebutted, "Besides, the man said that it would prevent a number of status ailments. At least, I think they do; hopefully if we run into a fight at Nubswood I'll be able try it out."

"It is pretty silly Jack," Kaila pointed out, talking around her food, "Now I'm going to get changed." She leaped out of her seat and back into the room, closing the door behind her.

The two sat there, silently eating their eggs, Jack wiping his hands on his cloth shirt, adding to the layer of dirt and grim. Someday soon he would have to wash it, or maybe just get another shirt and throw this one out. He took up his book, turning to the dog-eared page and continued reading. The title merely said "A Compleat History of the Man Marche Radiuju: By Montblanc the Moogle" in elegant calligraphy. Bernard grunted as he saw the title; Jack had better things to do other than just waste the day reading on a subject he was pretty much an expert on. Several books about Marche and his clan lay next to the pile of rags he called a bed, each one bookmarked and dog eared in several places.

"So, how much is this old man paying us?" Bernard asked, setting the spoon aside and putting his hands in his lap.

"About 15,000. More if get it by a certain time, which is just a couple weeks from now." Jack said, pushing his plate forward. Bernard stared at Jack, his mouth slowly opening just a little bit. 15,000 Gil just for some herbs? Either the man was insane or he had that much money just to throw away. Kaila had just stepped into the room when Jack announced the price, and was just as surprised as Bernard was, except her mouth opened more than Bernard's.

"15,000 gil? The man must be insane to give out that much money!" Kaila said, walking over and stopping next to Jack's chair, "We could get a lot of things with that money you know Jack, like maybe some new swords?"

"Don't worry Kaila, we'll figure that all out when we get the mission done," Jack said, getting out of his chair and walking towards the door. He slipped on his boots, and grabbed on of the swords leaning against the wall near the door and strapped it on to his belt, "Come on Kaila, we need to hurry if we want to beat the rush."

"Yay!" Kaila exclaimed, rushing out the door and into the small street, "Hurry up Jack!"

"I'm coming Kaila!" Jack responded, and then turned to Bernard, "Kaila and I should be back a little later than midday. If Pog wakes up, tell where we went, and tell him that is he wants to come along he should wake up with the rest of us. See you later," Bernard nodded, and Jack exited the small house, closing the door behind him. Kaila was nearly jumping with excitement, and started down the street a little ahead of Jack.

"I'm excited Jack," Kaila said, "I put up a flyer saying that we were looking for new members on the Wall yesterday, and the most beautiful Viera I've ever seen stopped by and looked at it. I followed her to see if she would arrive at our place."

"So that's why you were late last night, you were stalking a Viera." Jack said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I was not stalking her!"

"You were so!"

"Was not!" she insisted, slapping Jack upside the head, making him stop.

* * *

Authors Note: Thank you for reading through the first chapter of When Chaos Reign! I hope you enjoyed it. I'll have to warn you, the plot won't be revealed until about Chapter 3, when the mission actually starts. I like to provide a nice base, introduce most of the main characters first. Chapter 2 will be up shortly after this, probably the next day or two, but don't hold me on that. Please review! Enjoy Everything. P.S. I am now a Beta reader! Check out my "betafile" as I call it for more info.


	2. The Plaza

In the morning hours, one would expect a city to be fairly empty, with only a few people on the streets, running errands or erratically making their way back from the pub. Cyril's main plaza however, was the exact opposite of the norm. The plaza was abuzz with the sound of hundreds of residents, merchants and tourists. Four streets spread out in the four directions from the center, each one full of foot traffic exiting and entering the city, along with the occasional chocobo driven cart. Along three walls, and also around the central fountain, merchants had set up their stalls, some yelling out bargains to be had, while others just waited for the customers to come to them. Along the fourth wall, papers of all shapes and sizes sat, glued to the wall. This was the infamous Wall, usually the first stop for clan members to find jobs, the second being the traditional pub or tavern. Most of Cyril's citizens couldn't remember a time when the any part of the wall wasn't covered in paper, only the senior citizens really remembered what it was like.

Jack and Kaila were sitting on the rim of the fountain in between two small merchant stalls. Jack had his nose nearly pressed up against the new book he had just bought, explaining the history of the Ambervale Ruins. Kaila was scanning the crowd, her eyes never staying in one place for long, almost like she was looking for something, or someone. Occasionally, Kaila would grasp Jacks arm and shake it, exclaiming that she had seen the Viera that she had seen the day before. Then she would let go of his arm, saying that she had seen the wrong one, and continue searching the crowd. Jack set his book down for a second, and reached into the small bag lying at his feet. He rummaged around, moving small objects out of the way, and smiled as he found what he was looking for. He took out a thin, wooden plank, only about four inches long. Etched into it and painted black was the inscription, "Long live the clans," in ancient runes. This was something called a 'bookmark' that Jack had bought from a merchant who claimed that it contained mystical powers, and that it was a convenient placeholder for his book.

"Come on Kaila, we should get going. Bernard might want to talk to me about how we're going to complete the mission without getting caught by Energie," Jack said, putting his bookmark in place, and shutting the book, "I still think putting up that flyer was a bad idea. I want to try and keep our activities under the watchdogs of Imperia."

"Bernard was right, you are stubborn," Kaila said, smiling at Jack as he glared at her, "Well it's true you know. We don't live in that great of a place, we hardly eat any good meals, but I won't leave, don't worry. You're my friend Jack and – Oh! I think I saw her! Wait here!" She leapt off the fountain rim like a frog, and bounded into the crowd. Jack sighed, returning to his book. He wasn't reading for long before a small voice spoke in front of him,

"Hello Jack."

He looked up, his eyes peering over the top of the book, as saw who spoke. Standing in front of him was a Viera, standing at six feet tall, the rabbit-like ears adding another foot to her height. Both her ears were pierced twice near the top with gold rings, and each had a ring attached loosely on it. A broad-brimmed, red hat sat on her head, covering most of her white hair, with the exceptions of two large strands in the back, ending at her knees. A high-collared, sleeveless red shirt covered her top, extending down to just above her knees. Heeled, mahogany colored boots came up to the middle of her thigh, leaving only a small amount of dark skin showing. This was the guise of a Red Mage. The Viera kept staring at Jack with dark, brown eyes, almost in anticipation as she waited to hear what he would say.

"What do you want?" he responded coldly, turning back to his book.

"Tut, tut, tut Jack. You should know better than to talk to a woman like that," the Viera replied, taking up the empty spot that Kaila left open, "Although, you never were the one to treat –"

"My answer's 'No' Julie," Jack said bluntly, setting his book down on the fountain rim and turning his head to get a better look at the Viera, Julie.

"Why Jack, I didn't even ask a question yet," she replied, bringing a hand to her chest as if offended, "You really should learn some manners."

"I know that every time you come here you want me to come back to Imperia, and every time my answer will be no. Why don't you just stop?" Jack asked, leaning forward to emphasize. Julie only stared at Jack, her sharp gaze softening, a mischievous smile starting to creep onto her face.

"Jack, Jack, Jack," Julie started slowly, in an almost seductive tone, "Have you ever considered that's not the only reason why I come to see you every now and then?" She started to slowly scoot closer to Jack, reaching out towards his hand. He pulled back, grabbing his book and the small bag, and stood up.

"Julie, I have no further interest in you or Imperia. So please, just stop trying to convince me otherwise." Jack said, walking into the crowd. Julie's face turned from her seductive smile to a pout, crossing her arms and legs as she watched Jack walk away until she lost sight of him. Maybe Jack was right, maybe she shouldn't continue these visits. Then again, to do so would make Cicero irate; he did seem obsessed with getting Jack back. She never did understand his obsession with Jack, or his obsessions with having whoever left the clan come back. It's not like other people could take their place; everyday Imperia slowly started to grow. She stood up, brushing her rear off, and walked into the crowd, she had more important errands to take care of.

* * *

Bernard sat at the table, occupying what would usually be Jacks seat. It felt good to sit in a seat that had a back; good posture only went so far. He was passing his time by repairing a large rip in Jack's cap, he might have been stubborn, but that didn't mean he had to look ratty and lived in a gutter. This was how most days were in their household, Pog the moogle often sleeping in till well into the afternoon, Bernard patching or sewing something, or reading one of Jacks books, just to see why he was fascinated by them. Half of Jacks books were about Marche and his clan, most of those written by Montblanc, some written by various members of his clan from over the years. All eventually praised Marche as being one of the greatest clan leaders that had ever roamed Ivalice. Still, there were some pretty interesting facts that he learned about Marche from a few of those books. One was when Montblanc talked about when he first met Marche; apparently he had no idea about anything in Ivalice, and made the mistake of calling a bangaa a lizard, which sprung some short-lived rumors about Marche not being from Ivalice, that he came from a completely different world. No one had any proof of this and the rumors died quickly, although there were some that believed them, and kept trying to prove the rumors.

Bernard looked up at the door leading to his room, hearing a creak. He stopped his sewing momentarily, looking under the table. Not seeing anything, he sat back up, picked up his needle and resumed his sewing. He heard another noise, a shuffle, this time behind him. He quickly turned and looked, but saw nothing. He frowned, it must've been him moving the chair, but how could he, with his legs off the floor. Shaking his head, he turned back, and yelped in surprise. Standing right in front of him on the table was what looked like oversized mouse. Two things indicated that this wasn't a mouse. The first obvious thing was the red pom-pom that bobbed above his head, small spikes poking out on the bottom. The second thing were two, red bat-like wings, no more than about a half-foot long each.

"Pog!" Bernard exclaimed, "What have I told you about sneaking up on me like that? I was scared half to death!"

"That I should never, ever do it, kupo," Pog replied, a large grin on his face. As with the rest of his race, moogles loved to play tricks and jokes on other races, and never regretted doing so. "You know that I still do so anyway Bernard." He continued, plopping himself down where he stood.

"Yes, I know Pog," Bernard said, resuming his sewing. They sat there, silently, Pog watching Bernard sew. The expression on his went from sheer enjoyment from scaring Bernard to extreme boredom. He hopped off the table, and started walking towards the door to go outside. As soon as he approached the door, it quickly swung open, knocking Pog halfway across the small room.

"Pog!" Kaila exclaimed, shutting the door behind her and kneeling next to him, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were there!"

"I'm okay, kupo," Pog said, sitting up and holding his head, "What was with the rush though kupo?"

"Oh, well, I kind of got into an argument with a gang of Bangaa's," Kaila said, giggling nervously, "I accidentally bumped into one of them, and we got into a yelling match. At one point, one of them drew their swords, and the rest followed. So I ran, and I think I lost them."

"You should be more careful Kaila, you know how short a Bangaas temper is," lectured Bernard, not taking his eyes of the cape, "Where was Jack in all this?"

"Well, we were sitting on the rim of the fountain in the Plaza, and I noticed someone I recognized in the crowd, so I followed them," explained Kaila, by this time sitting on one of the logs, Pog sitting on the table in front of her, "I did a quick check of where we were sitting on my way back, but I didn't see him, so I presumed he had just come home."

As soon as Kaila finished her sentence, Jack walked in through the door. He looked exhausted, he only looked around the small room and walked past the group, opening his door and slipping into his room. All three looked at each other; they knew something must have happened while he was alone. Pog motioned for Kaila to go check on him, who motioned to Bernard, who motioned back to Pog, and the cycle continued for a few seconds before Kaila stood up and walked right into Jack's room. She found Jack sitting against the wall, one of his knees brought up, his new book propped up against it. It seemed to Kaila that Jack wasn't really paying attention to what had been written; when Jack got into a book he always had this certain look about him that was hard to describe, it was almost as if he was looking at someone he loved.

"Jack, did something happen when I was gone?" Kaila asked, stepping inside and closing the door behind her, "I'm sorry for just running away like that. Turns out it wasn't the Viera I thought I saw yesterday."

"It's alright Kaila," Jack replied, looking up from his book, "and no, nothing happened when you were gone."

"Oh come on Jack, I know that's not true. Something's bothering you, and we want to know. It's not good to keep things to yourself, you need to talk it out," Kaila explained, walking over and crouching next to Jack. He sighed, setting his book down. He knew he might as well talk; Kaila was persistent in matters like this.

"I ran into Julie today. Well, she actually found me not long after you left. Not a whole lot happened, she just tried to get me to come back to Imperia and as usually I said no." Jack explained, "I can tell she just doesn't want to talk to me, Cicero must be ordering her to do so."

"Why would Cicero want _you_ back?" she asked, "From what you've told me you were pretty rebellious and always taking risks."

"I still do, but that's beside the point. I'm not sure though, I tend not to give thought about it and just put that behind me." He said, picking up his book again.

"Don't you feel better know that you've talked about it?" Kaila pondered, standing back up.

"Yes, I do. Now please, may I read? It's getting pretty interesting." Jack said. Kaila nodded, giving him a small kick in the leg as she walked out. Jack reached behind him and grabbed his blanket and threw it at her. She was faster, and the blanket hit the door as she closed it. Kaila took her seat, and told Bernard and Peg what Jack had told her. Both were curious on why Cicero would want Jack back. They left the subject alone this was something that they would talk about later. Bernard resumed his sewing; Pog threw a firecracker at Kaila's feet and proceeded to spend the next hour running away from her.

Later that night, the moogle Gunner that had been hiding in the alley across from the small house stood up for the first time in hours. He stretched for just a bit, and then walked down the alley, following it until he emerged onto one of the central streets. He shook his head as he walked; he was beginning to think Cicero's obsession with bringing back former members of Imperia was starting to get a little ridiculous, but he wouldn't say anything, he was living a good life.

* * *

A/N: Well, here it is, the second chapter of WCR (When Chaos Reign). I apologize for such the late upload, I have been pretty busy the past month and hardly got a chance to sit down and type. **News!** I am a Beta Reader, so please feel free to check out my betafile and send me some betas, please? Please review, and I promise I will get chapter three, the journey to Nubswood, up much sooner.


	3. Nubswood

Nubswood was not known for its tourism. The wood was a rather dismal place, the Ulei River ran right through it, and the Uladon Bog lay to its east. Because of this, most of the ground was soft, and small streams were in no shortage. In the higher parts of the forests, the ground was harder and less soft, making it an ideal place to set up camp, or for clans to set up base. The trees in Nubswood never got to the size of oaks or others; instead they were skinny, their only branches were near the top, since little sunshine shone through the canopy.

Jack wasn't paying too much attention to the trees, or anything else for that matter. Instead he held a book in front of his nose, his attention firmly on it, and yet he was still able to navigate the uneven ground. Every now and then he would stop, peek over the top of the book, and start again, sometimes in a different direction, sometimes going the same way. The rest of the group however, was struggling to keep up with Jacks pace. Bernard kept tripping over exposed roots and rocks, while Kaila kept hitting extremely soft spots in the ground. Pog had no worries though, he was safe and content sitting on Kaila's shoulders. She didn't mind all that much, Pog being extremely light, she hardly felt him on her shoulder at times.

This struggle to keep up with Jack continued on for half the day, until Jack stopped and closed his book. He started turning, looking around the area. The ground was flatter here compared to the terrain they had been walking along. The group managed to catch up, taking seats on a log and a rock. Bernard looked at Jack, who was still looking around, apparently amazed.

"What is it Jack?" Bernard said, "What's got your attention?"

"This is where Marche met his friend Ritz again, I think. From all that I've read this should be the spot," Jack said, "Well, there's not a whole lot of time left, so let's get going ya?"

Bernard and Kaila let out a small groan, they were just getting comfortable. For two more hours the hike continued, until Jack stopped for a second time. The group caught up, and stood to either side. Kaila let out a small gasp, Bernard just stared. Before them was a small clearing, about ten feet wide from the center, and was filled with a yellow flower that looked like a rose crossed with a lilac. There were no trees in the clearing, so the sun shone right through. The flowers reflected the light, making seem them brighter than they were. Jack bent down and picked one of the flowers, bringing it up to his nose. He gave it a quick sniff, and quickly turned his head away.

"Yep, this is it," Jack said, "The old man told me it would smell, but I didn't think it was this bad."

Pog leapt off of Kaila's shoulder and landed in the clearing. He took a deep breath and quickly ran out; the flowers were as tall as he was and he had taken a large whiff of the smell. "What is this kupo?" he said, coughing.

"It's called Myrsm," Bernard said, "It's an uncommon herb, it grows in places where the ground is soft and wet most of the year. It's not a very useful; it can only be used with another herb called Xyvis. Xyvis also isn't a very common herb; you can only find it in caves, and even then under certain conditions. You can see why Myrsm isn't very useful."

"Thank you for the lecture Bernard," Jack said, starting to gather some of the herb up, "Why don't we start gathering this? The sooner the better right?" They all nodded in agreement, and started to gather the herb, except Pog, who refused to smell that horrible smell again. The task only took about five minutes, and afterwards the group had sat down, intending on eating lunch. They managed to get a fire going, a small rabbit cooking over the fire, slowly rotating.

"I'll be right back guys," Jack said, standing up, adjusting his sword.

"Where ya going?" Kaila asked in between bits of bread.

"Just right behind that tree over there." He said, making his way over there. He did his business, and was fixing his pants when he felt a small tap on his arm. He quickly looked behind him to see if it might have been Pog. He felt another tap, this one on his leg, accompanied by a small laugh.

"Damn it Pog, is that's you I swear by Mateus I'll-" he said, but stopped as soon as he saw a boy. The boy was wearing light red shorts and shirt, the design of which Jack had never seen before in Ivalice. He glanced down at the boy's feet, and saw that they were covered by turquoise shoes and socks. He looked back up at the boys face, and stared at it. Something seemed familiar about it, like he had seen it somewhere before. Before he could remember, the boy ran off into the woods. Jack quickly fixed his pants and chased after the boy.

"Hey wait!" he yelled, "Stop!" The boy refused to stop, and Jack kept chasing the boy, all his thoughts trained on figuring out who he was, and why he was in Nubswood in the first place. The boy finally stopped in front of a large tree. Jack stood there, panting, as he watched what the boy did. He brought his hand up to the tree and spoke something under his breath. It sounded like a chant, but Jack couldn't be sure, he was speaking too low. Out from the tree, a bright light sprang. Jack covered his eyes with his arm, and felt a strong wind blow past him. When he moved his arm, he was shocked.

All around him was white. Nothing but white. He looked up, down, all around and still there was nothing but white. Then he noticed something in front of him. It was the boy, but he was surrounded by three others. Two boys and a girl. On of the boys was sitting in some kind of chair with wheels, the other was holding some kind of stuffed animal, and the girl had pink hair. It was then that he had recognized where he had seen the boy before. It was an old picture in one of his very first books about Marche; it included a portrait of the boy.

"Marche," he said.

The group turned to look at him, and the one with the bear shouted, "Away!" The bright light came back, and Jack felt like he was falling this time. He kept falling and falling until he finally hit something; moist ground. He lifted himself up his with elbows; he had landed on his back, and looked around. He was back where Marche had put his hand on the tree. He wondered if it really happened; maybe some Clan Energie member had hit him while he was taking a piss, and all that was just a hallucination. Whatever it was, he knew he had to get back to his group, they must be wondering why he was taking so long.

As soon as he stood up, he heard gunfire, several shots in succession. It couldn't be Pog; he knew that his gun couldn't fire that fast. He stood there for just a moment, and then started off at a dead run as he heard screaming. His immediate thought was that Energie members had finally caught up with them. As he got closer, the sound of swords clanging each other and the roar of spells increased. He drew his sword, and increased his pace. He didn't get very far until Bernard ran past him, and then Kaila with Pog on her shoulder, firing at some unseen foe. Jack quickly followed him, and looked over his shoulder. There was five Bangaa's chasing after them, all dressed up like Gladiators. His pace increased, he did not want to get into a fight with one of them.

He heard Bernard shout a spell up ahead, and two shouts followed afterwards. _Damn, _he thought, _they must have been following us, waiting for the right time to strike. If anything happens to us, it's my fault. Especially Kaila, if she got – Lookout! _His thoughts were interrupted when something flew at him from the side. He managed to get his sword up, blocking the blade. Another sword came at him, and he jumped back. He felt a sting as the sword slashed his forearm. He gasped as the blade struck, and immediately turned to run. He knew he wouldn't be able to stand a chance against anyone from Energie; they were trained to be the absolute best of the best, to have other clans fear them. It was that fear that drove him now.

He took a quick look at his wound to see how bad it was. He wiped away some of the blood, and saw that the wound wasn't that big, it just bleed a lot. He quickly tore off a piece of his cloak, and wrapped it around his wound. He tied it quickly, not knowing if another enemy was going to spring out from the nest tree. He grunted in alarm when he looked back up, a line of humans and Bangaa's were waiting for them. Two of them broke off from the line; one went for Kaila and the other for him. He heard Bernard casting more spells, Pog firing his gun and Kaila shouting as the Bangaa approached her. He started yelling himself, looking right at the oncoming foe as he did so. He raised his blade, and swung it down as soon as the Bangaa was close enough. The foe raised his sword and easily deflected the cut. He started attacking Jack, his sword flying across, from above, from below, trying to catch Jack off guard. Jack managed to deflect every blow, but he felt his arm shudder with every impact.

Then the Bangaa backed off, moving away from him. Jack stared in confusion, and then heard four shots. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and immediately started to feel drowsy. He fell to his knees, and fighting to stay awake, and looked to see if his group had managed to get hit. Pog was already on the ground, Kaila too, but Bernard was struggling. He heard him cast Esuna, but heard another shot before he finally passed out. _Damn,_ he thought before the world went black.

She was underwater. That was her first thought as she slowly woke up. The world looked muddled, like seeing a fish move in a fast moving stream. As she finally came too, her vision cleared, and she could see that she was in some kind of tent. A tent with bars in it. She managed to look around, trying to relieve the stiffness in her neck, and saw that she was in a cage and not a very large cage too. She groaned, and went to scratch an itch on her face, only to figure out her hands her bound behind her. She tried to undo the knot, but after a few moments few gave up. She still felt weak from the drug. She then gasped in shock; a sharp pain suddenly came from her right shoulder. She gritted her teeth together, she had never been shot before. _So this is what it's like to get shot, _she thought, _I would rather bee stabbed._

She heard another groan, this one not too far away. She looked around, and saw there was another cage just like hers to her right. Lying in the middle was a bundle of rags, but she knew those rags.

"Bernard!" she hissed, "Bernard! Wake up!" She waited a few seconds before trying again. He still didn't react. She sighed, what a predicament they were in. Her initial excitement of exploring hostel territory was beginning to wear off; she just expected to go in, have a small fight, and get out again, not get shot in the back and be thrown in a cage. She could only sigh and wait, she was used to waiting, even thought it didn't seem like it at times.

"At least it's not like back _there,_" she muttered. Her head turned as she heard a jangle of keys. Standing in front of the cage was a human, dressed up in what looked like expensive body armor. He had a malicious grin on his face, almost saying that he knew what was going to happen to them, and that something was going to be bad. He only stared at her, looking her up and down like he was choosing the perfect cut of meat. She shivered slightly; old memories started breaking the surface.

"Josef!" another human came in, dressed similarly "You better not be thinking of doing anything, or the Lieutenant will have your head."

"I'm not going to do anything to her," the first one replied, "I know exactly what's going to happen to her, and I'm going to be there when it happens."

"You better not," the second one warned, "Now come on, you've been called for patrol duty."

The first human grunted at that comment, and followed the second one out, but not before smirking at Kaila one last time. She shivered once more; she probably knew what he wanted to do with her. She would have to get out of these bonds, and then maybe she could pick the lock and escape. It was going to take some time though, the ropes were tied tightly, and by the way they talked, something was going to happen to them soon. _We're probably going to get killed,_ she thought, _I will get out, I will get out, I will get out._

After about an hour of struggling with the knot, Kaila just stopped. The knot had failed to come undone in the least bit, and without her hands there was no way for her to pick the lock. Bernard still hadn't stirred, and she couldn't carry him and successfully escape unnoticed with him on her back. She dropped her head, it seemed like there wasn't anyway to escape whatever was waiting for her. She wondered what it could be though; would they kill them on spot? Would they torture them in front of everybody? Would they rape her in front of a crowd? She hoped she would just be killed on spot, it was the swiftest of the three, and she was spared the humiliation.

She the jangle of keys again, and looked up. The second human from before was unlocking her cage. He didn't say anything, just unlocked her cage and went straight to unlocking Bernard's. She started to slowly making her way over to the unlocked door, thinking of what she would do after she got out.

"I wouldn't think of trying to escape," The human said, "We've got about three guards waiting outside, and they wouldn't hesitate to kill you if you tried to run." He finally unlocked Bernard's cage, and walked inside. He grabbed his coat, and started shaking him. Bernard finally started coming to, but his words were slurred together and incoherent. The human set Bernard on his feet, and started pushing him towards the entrance of the tent. As he passed by Kaila, he motioned for her to come along. Reluctantly, she got up, not without some trouble, and walked beside Bernard, the human behind them.

When they exited the tent, Kaila saw that the tent she was in was one of many. They were lined up in rows, some opened and some closed. The human made them continue on their way, walking down the aisle made by the tents. Gradually, the sound of laughing increased, along with the sound of a whip. Up ahead she saw a group of humans and Bangaa's surrounding something. She heard the whip crack again, this time followed by a groan of pain. The voice was too low to be Pog, so unless they had other prisoners, the only person it could be was

"Jack," she said, and quickened her pace. The human behind her grabbed her restraints and held on tight, letting her know she was to keep her pace. The crowd started to part as they saw them coming, and as the final man moved out of the way, Kaila could see who was being whipped. The man had his arms tied around the pole, and a rope was tied around his waist to keep him standing. The side of the mans face was pushed against the pole, and Kaila immediately recognized him.

It was Jack.


	4. Escape

Hey all. Just a slight warning; it gets a little dark near the middle, but nothing that would break the "T" rating I think. Anyway, please leave a review? I'd like to know how I'm doing. Oh yeah, disclaimer. You know the drill.

* * *

The tears started welling up in her eyes. She had never imagined that they would extract such pain from Jack; there were marks that could not have been made by a whip. The whip cracked again, and Jack started falling down the pole, his face contorted in pain. Two Bangaas on the side of the crowd lifted him back up, tying the rope aground his waist tighter. Jack didn't protest, his hands were tied, and even if they weren't, most of his strength was devoted to avoiding the pain that kept spreading from his back. Kaila looked around, trying to see if Pog was in sight, waiting for his turn or if he had already gone. Her eyes found the one who had the whip, and saw that he was going to whip Jack again.

"No!" she screamed, "Stop, please stop!" The crowd turned its attention to her, but she didn't notice, she kept begging for them to stop. The man with the whip was about to let it loose, until another voice rang out,

"You can put the whip down for right now Adaman, I think the girl's seen enough for the time being."

Kaila lifted her head up to see who had spoken. She gasped in shock, she recognized the man in an instant. She had hoped to never again lay eyes on that face, that face that looked so charming but masked a man that knew no good. The man's name was Dimitri Ivalych, known in the underground world as a man that should never be crossed, mainly because can either make you into a devoted servant, or just decide to chop your arm and reattach it, twice, just for a laugh. How fitting for second in command of Clan Energie.

"Ah, Kaila, so nice to see you again," Dimitri said, "I was rather sad for quite a while when you left me. I tried to find you, but we lost you in Baguba. Now I find you with three others, apparently on a mission. How did you run into these ratty people?"

"You bastard! After what you've done to me, you'd think I would talk to you like an old friend?" Kaila yelled.

"Fine. If you won't tell me, I guess I'll just have to get it out of one of your friends," Dimitri said, walking to stand in front of Bernard, "Your moogle friend was really quite resilient for someone his size. He eventually told me almost everything; about why you are here and such. Your other friend, Jack, I think his name his, has proven to be a little harder. Maybe a few more lashes will do?" He indicated tot eh man to continue the whipping. Jacks yells of pain continued until Kaila finally said,

"Alright, alright. I'll tell, I'll tell," she sobbed, "Just don't hurt him anymore."

"Fantastic!" Dimitri said, turning towards her, "Now, how did I lose you Baguba, hmm?"

"Jack came to my rescue after he saw I was being assaulted by some drunkards. I had seen several other people walk by the alley, but none had come to rescue me. Then Jack came, and I followed him, grateful for saving my life. He didn't understand why I was still following him, and all I told him was that I needed to get out of the city fast; I was being chased by someone very evil. He agreed to help me, and so we hopped into the back of a cart in the middle of the night, so you would still think I was in the city."

"Damn! How could you have escaped so easily? Escaping in the back of a cart; it seems so cliché!" Dimitri said, pacing back and forth, "Well, no matter, I finally have you back after all this time. Giordano, get the man off the pole, it's time for the Nu Mou. Wilhelm, take Kaila back to her cell, I'll be seeing more of her tonight."

Kaila struggled against her captor, she knew what was coming to Bernard; the same thing as Jack. Wilhelm had no trouble holding her as he walked her back to her cage. He opened the door and threw her in, quickly closing it back up when she rushed the door. She started cursing at him, and he suddenly reached through the bars and grabbed her hair, and slammed her head against the bars of the cage. He managed to knock her out by doing so. He stared at her for a moment, this girl was going to be trouble, and he could feel it.

* * *

The single lamp in the middle of the room cast flickering shadows all over the tent. Some of the shadows moved as if they had life; if one saw one of these shadows out of the corner of their eye, they could have sworn that someone was there. There were other lamps in the room, but he preferred just the one for this night. He had been anticipating her return; no one since had put up such fights, and it excited him. The power he had over his prisoners was like something he had never felt before, like a parched man drinking a glass of cool water for the first time in weeks. It was euphoric.

He couldn't sit still tonight, and he didn't quite understand why. It must be because he would be reunited, as he saw it, with Kaila. Kaila was by far his favorite out of all the people he owned; she was sarcastic, rude, she could swear up a storm and, best of all, she fought back even when he thought she couldn't. It was that one aspect that quenched the thirst he felt constantly, and tonight he would be able to finally take that cool drink for the first time.

The flap to his tent opened, and Wilhelm and Kaila entered. He smiled; they had arrived right on time. He knew he could trust Wilhelm with the most important tasks. His smile widened slightly as he saw that he had tied Kaila's hands in front of her; it would add to the excitement tonight.

"Kaila," he said, slowly walking over to her, "I'm glad you can join me tonight. I have something very special planned tonight."

"You can go to hell you motherfu-" Dimitri slapped her before she could continue any longer, a brief look of rage on his face. It disappeared as quickly as it came, and he grabbed her chin and looked straight into her eyes.

"You really need to learn to watch you tongue around me," he said, his voice calm and collected, "We'll have to work on that some. Wilhelm, you can leave us now, but do stay right outside. I might need you to get something."

Wilhelm merely nodded, and exited the tent. He knew better to disobey orders, he had seen the consequences of that first hand, and was often the one given the punishment for that disobedience.

"Now that we're alone, we can finally get back to the fun we had," Dimitri said, standing next to Kaila and walking her across the floor. They approached a second flap in the tent; this was his personal space, and no one was allowed to enter uninvited. As they passed the flap, Kaila was reminded of exactly how dire her situation was.

Lining the walls of the tent were various machines and shelves. Some of the machines she had hoped never to see again. There was one that had a spiked log in the center, and ropes where the hands and feet would go. Another was an iron casing with short spikes as the lining. Luckily she had never been on that table or in that casing, but she had seen them being used on people and it was a ghastly sight. On the shelves were various types of whips and knives; short whips, spiked whips, jagged knives, whips with hooks, the list went on. Right at the back of the tent was a curious thing; a wooden chair. The chair had restraints where the hands and feet would go, but other than that there was nothing to cause pain, which was unusual. All of Dimitri's "play things," as he called them, caused some kind of pain.

"I just barley got this," he said, "You won't believe what the brilliant minds in Cadoan are doing today. They're buildings are fascinating in their own right, but the real fascinations are at the Institute of Research and Development. They are working on some kind of motorized cart, new power sources, new methods of execution. They even showed some the visitors how the execution methods work. I so happened to acquire one of those methods."

While he was talking, he had sat Kaila down in seat, untying her hands and putting them in the restraints first. After that, he tightened the restraints on the feet extra tight; he did not want her running away.

"Well, the one method that I had just managed to acquire is a very slow, painful one. I later learned that the Institute had canceled this project, but I found it so intriguing I had to have it. So, what I'm going to do is attach these wires to your arms and head, and then turn the dial on this little box here," he said, pointing out to Kaila where it was. He attached the wires using a sort of resin to keep them attached, and turned the dial up just a bit. She felt a tingle go throughout her entire body, like her body was falling asleep.

"No doubt your feeling a tingle right about now, right?" he asked, "Perfect, exactly like they said. Now, I'm going to slowly turn up the power bit by bit. Don't worry, you won't die, but it will start t hurt, a lot." A malicious smile started creeping on his face as he turned the dial again. She felt the tingling get stronger, her breathing started to quicken and a panicked look started to fill her eyes.

Before Dimitri could progress any further, the pair both heard a large explosion. Dimitris smiled faded, and he rushed out of the second part of the tent. Kaila heard some mumbling, and Dimitri came back in. She noticed he looked frustrated; her first guess was that it had something to do with her friends, she hoped that it was. Another explosion rang out through the night, this one closer. Dimitri looked over his shoulder, and then turned back to the dial. He grabbed it, and turned a quarter turn. She screamed, the sudden flow of electricity hurting all over. She began to try and loosen the harnesses, but they were too tight and her fingers couldn't reach the clasps.

The pair both heard gunshots, and Kaila managed to stop screaming for just a moment to hear how close they were. Several more rang out, and she guessed that they were no more than a hundred to hundred fifty feet away. She smiled weakly; he knew that somehow Jack and Pog had managed to escape and were looking for her. Seeing her smile, Dimitri turned the dial up more. She screamed again, this time louder, and her nose was filled with the smell of burning hair. She could feel the electricity coursing through every single inch of her body, and her eyes start to expand.

Just then, something crashed through the second flap of the tent, letting out a yell. Dimitri turned to see what it was, and immediately started chanting a spell when a shot rang out. Kaila saw it hit him right in the stomach, and he ceased to move. She looked to see what had charged through the tent, and was surprised. It was a chocobo, a rather large one, and she could see somebody riding on the back. They leaped off, and ran the final few feet towards Kaila. They shut off the dial, and started to undo the straps. They looked up at her, and she sighed in relief. It was Jack, and he grabbed her arm, putting it around his shoulders and placing his other arm around his waist.

"Jack," she said weakly, "I knew you'd come."

"It's better if you don't talk Kaila, better conserve your energy. You'll need it." He said, reaching the side of the beast. A small hand grabbed Kaila's wrist, and she saw that it was Pog. Both of them helped Kaila sit in the saddle, and Pog moved and grabbed a hold of the chocobos neck, making room for Jack. He hopped on, and gave the beast a kick, directing it back the way they came. As they emerged from the tent, Kaila saw what had happened.

Most of the tents were on fire, presumably from the explosion, and there were a couple black mages trying to freeze the fire, but to no avail. She looked down the path, and saw another chocobo riding towards them. She managed to see Bernard's face in the dark, and he was firing spells at the group that was chasing them. She felt Pog move around her, and heard as he started firing into the crowd. Jack made the giant bird go into a full run, Bernard having passed them. He hoped that they would make it out of the camp alive and also wished that the rules of official engagements were still in place.

The density of camps started getting lower, and soon they had escaped from the camp. They weren't out of the fire yet, so to speak. Kaila looked behind her, and saw at least five other chocobos pursuing them. She ducked as she felt a bullet barely miss her ear. She brought her head back up and looked behind her, it was hard to see where their pursuers were, but every now and then they would past through shafts of moonlight.

"Wait a minute," she said, turning to Jack, "How did you manage to escape Jack?"

"Well, it was simple. Pog easily slid through the bars, and undid his knots on a sword, and then picked the lock on my cage. It was then that we had decided to split up; Pog would set some of the ammo on fire, and I would free Bernard and grab these chocobos in the confusion. I also managed to find you because I 'persuaded' a guard to tell me where they had taken you." He explained, being careful not to lead his mount into a tree, "Bernard! Let's split up! We'll meet you at the rendezvous point!"

Bernard shouted his agreement, and veered away from the rest of the group.

"Aren't we supposed to stay together Jack?" Kaila asked, ducking once again as she felt another bullet pass her.

"You can relax; Bernard is one of the best chocobo riders in the nation, in his young days at least. He knows how to throw people off his trail," he said, "Myself on the other hand, I know a little. Pog! Aim for the chocobos! Try not to kill them, just wound them alright?"

"Okay, kupo!"

Pog continued firing, having grabbed a couple guns and a couple bandoliers of ammo before he lit the rest on fire. He was feeling exhilarated; shooting at people that would most likely kill them if they caught and in almost total darkness to boot. This was a test of the moogles skill, and so far he was doing alright. He knew he at least hit two of the riders, and was thankful that Jack had mentioned to shoot at the mounts, they were much bigger targets.

* * *

Eventually they managed to shake their pursuers, mostly due to Pog's marksmanship. They didn't dare stop until they had reached the small village an hour or so away from the forest. Kaila had passed out from exhaustion, and Jack ended up carrying her inside the tavern and onto her bed. He grabbed a chair, pulling it up to the bedside and taking a seat. Pog was absent; he had already fallen asleep in the other room they had managed to rent. He looked her over, and saw the burns on her temples and arms. He could feel his eyes welling up with tears, and he let them flow. This was exactly the kind of thing he kept being warned about, but failed to listen.

He had recognized the man Pog had shot, Kaila described him so perfectly over the course of their friendship. He was glad that they had got there in the nick of time; who knows what that man would have done to her? He couldn't understand how somebody could cause pain and harm to another and have a smile on his face. Those were the people that showed that there really was evil in the world. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, leaving one holding Kaila's hand. He could see her face twitching; he could only wonder what was going through her mind right now.

"Kaila…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."


End file.
